Spring-link.



A. Bn DAY.,

SPRING LINK. APPLIUATION FILED MAB. 1s, 1909.

' Patented ct. 12, i909.

[I/m3121501; I l 9 Aoney.

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Be it known thatl, ALFRED B. Dar, a citi-4 zen of the United States, residing at Knoxville, in the county oi' Knox and State of 'l`emiessee, have 'invented a new and useful lnnnorement in Spring-Links, of which the .toliomng is a specihcation, reference being had to the accompanying drawing.

Bly improvement relates particularly to l inks adapted to be usedas a portion of a mine car coupling.

The object of the invention is to produce a link which will yield to an effective extent to abnormal strains and which may be easiily and cheaply made and which is composed 0fl parts which may bef made separately and afterward assen'ibled and which are separable and inlerchangeable,d in order `-t-hat a broken part may be easilyreplaced by anew part. 5

In the.' accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side eleva tionof a portion of a car coupling embodying my improved link; Fig'. 2 is an end elevationpf the same link; Fig. 3 is a. section on the line 3 3- of Fig. l, looking toward the left; Fig.- fi is a section on the line ll--l of Fig. l, looking in the direction oi the arrow.

y improved link consists ofthree members, namely, a spring, A, a plate, B, and a plate. C. '.lhe spring is atube-form, spiral coiled spring having the coils of substantially uniform diameter and separated from each other so as to adapt the springfor endwise compression under lstrains large enoughv to overcome the strength ofthe spring.` 'The plates, B and C, are .duplicates one of the.

other and they may be i entical castings or drop toi-gings. rl"he body of each offsaid plates is so formed as t0 adaptl it tobear against the body of the other of said plates. rind each. such bodyis preferably as wide as the interior diameter 'of ythe tube-form spring,but not wider, in order that it may be placed into the tube-form spring, as will be hereinafter described. And each of said .plates is provided at one end with a semicircular tlange, D, extending along one side and the upper and lower edges of the body ol the plate. And each of said plates has at its opposite end a transverse aperture' or eye, E, the distance between 'saideye and the flange, D, being alittle more than the n ormal length of the spring, A. The 'sprlng and said two plates are assembled by push'- ing the eye end'of each of said plates lengthseams-Linie "spenderen@mansarent.' y rammentareramena: ':Applicationmediteren 1a,y ieeeistria-1,1m.'- essere.' ,l

the eye end of the. other plate being entered at the opposite end of the spring and the two plates-being placed iiatwise against each other with the flanges, D, of each such plate directed away from the other plate. When these parts have been thus assembled to onstit-ute the link and a pullingstrain is applied at kthe eye of each plate and away from through the movement of the two flanges, D,

toward cach other and parallelto the link axis.. l

The plates, C, are retained within the spring by common links or clei'ises, or 4similar power-transmitting members, extending through the eyes, E, of said plates, each of said common links or clevises being too large to pass through the spring while the opposite plate is in the spring. Thus each such common link or clevis serves as a keyv for holding one of the plates, C. within the spring. In' the lett hand portion of Figs. 1 and 4, vll is such a key consisting of a portion of a common link or clevis. And in the right hand port-ion of Figs. l and-4, G is such a key inthe form of a common .link to .which is applied a link or clevis, H.

Then thel .common link or clevis, F, is drawn toward the left and the common link, G, is drawn toward the right` withsuificient force, theI plate, B, will be drawn toward the `left while the plate, C, is drawn toward the right, the flanges, D, approaching each other to tlre'bxtent that the spring is compressed by said Hanges.

If so desired,l a common link may be applied to one of the plates before the "latten `is put into the spring, provided said link is 'made narrow enough to I pass through the spring.

Should it lbe desired to separatethemembers of my improved link, vthis may be readily doneafteithe relnovalof vthe couimon lin-ks or clevises constituting the keys which extend through the eyes, E.

In use, when strain is abruptly applied to one ot' twocars between which my improved link is used as a part of a con ling, the transmission of said strainis gra ual.-

I claim as my invention:

A link comprising a tubular coiled spring o nevof. said ends- `being.entered at one end of the spring and roo adapted for endwise Compression and two rigid members extending sideeby-side through v said springend having at alter'- nate ends'. a flange integral with its mem` 5 ber and directed laterally away from the link axisl atopposite sides of the latter and bearing against opposite ends of the sp1-ing and said members having their ends op Joy site the end bearing the flange-formed o1 10 engagement with a transmittingmember and small enough transxfersebv to pass through the spring, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name, in presence of two Witnesses, this fifteenth day of Mai-ch, in the year one thou- 15 sand nine hundred and nine.

ALFRED B. DAY.I

Witnesses CYRUs KEUR, C. A. MORSE. 

